By msnbc.com staff and news services
Gunmen killed 27 police officers?in a pre-dawn attack?at checkpoints in the western Iraqi city of Haditha on Monday, according to reports.
A police source, who had been ferrying the victims to a hospital morgue, told Reuters three other policemen had been wounded and one of the gunmen also died.
A medical source at Haditha hospital told Reuters the facility had received 27 bodies of slain victims, and three wounded policemen were being treated.
The BBC reported that the attackers, some wearing army uniforms, also kidnapped two senior officers from their homes.
It quoted officials saying at least 21 policemen were dead, although there was no immediate explanation for the differing death tolls.
A curfew has been imposed on the town after the pre-dawn attack.
News channel Al Jazeera?quoted a source as saying the attacks had exclusively targeted police personnel across several checkpoints. The death toll included two police colonels.
The BBC said that Anbar province, where Haditha is situated, was once a stronghold for Sunni militants following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Violence dwindled after tribal leaders allied themselves with US-led forces.
Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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